Allen H. Renear, Yunseon Choi

Abstract

IFLA's Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) presents a compelling and influential model of the "bibliographic universe." We show that there are some interesting variations between FRBR's formal model and the narrative expositions of FRBR's authors and explicators -- that is, between the formal model and the framework as more broadly understood by the community. We believe these variations raise fundamental questions about both the nature of our understanding of bibliographic entities and our understanding of the models we are using to represent those entities.